#196 FAFO (F**k Around and Find Out)

Posted on Wed Nov 1st, 2023 @ 6:14pm by Lieutenant JG Ainkara "Kara" {Meji}
Edited on on Thu Nov 30th, 2023 @ 10:02pm

Mission: Wedding Blues And Trouble
Location: various
Timeline: current

ON:

Upon entering the atmosphere for the Class-L world, Ainkara noted that the sensors suddenly went awry while cruising over certain areas and landscapes for the world below. It seemed that the mountain ranges here caused some kind of interference. Perfect, she thought to herself, it will aid in my evasions once on the ground. Angling around, using the disrupted sensors to find the best mountain range to use, Ainkara decided on one and flew that direction. The mountainsides were covered in lush evergreen forests, and there was plenty of fresh water cascading down from their snowy peaks in various streams and waterfalls. Seeing an open vale large enough for the runabout she brought the small starship in for a landing, purposely landing a bit harder than necessary and allowing the ship to skid a few meters.

Unbuckling from her seat, Ainkara hopped to her feet and went to the back. Kirk was awake now, and looked none too happy with her predicament, but Ainkara could give a damn. Unzipping her all white catsuit, Ainkara stripped down to her knickers and went to the replicator. Tapping quickly she created a dark green, digital camo set of combat fatigues with calf-high lace up combat boots.

Kirk gave a derisive chuckle. "Do you really think you can escape them?"

Ignoring Kirk for the moment, Ainkara donned her garments, opening the weapons cache for Away excursions. She took a rifle with sling, web gear, a phase pistol with TAC holster, and a double-edged combat knife. Everything was solid black. She chose to not wear the tunic over the black sports bra and tank top, instead grabbing a black military style waist coat, with an orange inner lining. Once she was free of danger she could flip the coat inside out and be easier to see for craft flying overhead doing search and rescue; if it came to that. Once all weapons were checked for charge and placement, the knife strapped on her left thigh, the pistol on her right, Ainkara donned the web gear and then put on the jacket and zipped up. Extending the sling for the rifle she slung it over her back from left shoulder down to right hip.

Once she was dressed for her escape Ainkara then went over to Burke, kneeling and checking his pulse as she pulled her tricorder out. His pulse was weak and thready. "Damn it!" She hissed.

"This just isn't your day, is it, Cadet?" Asked Kirk, more derisive laughter.

It took all Ainkara had to not whip around and go over to Kirk, to punch her in the face for all this trouble. But, with Burke in such bad shape she could not waste time on a moment of vengeance. Instead, the Voran took up the medkit and gave him another shot of anti-radiation serum, and after that she reloaded a stimulant into the hypo and touched it to his neck, injecting it. Within seconds he began to stir, coughing and clearing his throat as he looked up at her with his bloodshot eyes.

"Prognosis, Cadet?"

"You have radiation sickness, and an infection," said Ainkara. "I'll carry you out of here. Just hold tight."

"Let him die..." Kirk began to say, but a right hook slammed her in the jaw.

As Ainkara had moved to accomplish one more task before running into the woods and hills, Kirk had decided to open her mouth. Having had enough, Ainkara gave her a puck in the gob for good measure. "Shut up."

Burke, despite how shitty he felt, smiled. "Okay, seeing that made me feel better."

Getting a rucksack, Ainkara opened the hatch that provided access to the mechanicals for the ship. Scrambling down inside, her right eye coming alight with the internal Iconian biosynthetic implant, Ainkara located what she sought. Pulling covers off of three system access nodes, she then took out several isolinear chips from each board, stuffing them into the ruck. She put the covers back on the access stations and climbed out, closing the hatch behind her. Kirk had recovered from her dizzy state after being punched by someone far stronger than she was, giving the Voran woman the evil eye. Noticing the look of death Ainkara went over and knelt down, looking the Human in the eye. "I leave you to your friends, Kirk. Maybe they followed me, maybe they didn't. Either way, you're trapped and shackled until I decide to come check on you." Her hand came up and forcefully pointed at Burke. "He comes first. I'll leave the hatches open just in case there are actually predators here. Have a nice day."

"You bitch! You can't just leave me here!"

Ainkara ignored her as she wailed, securing rifle and ruck over her back, then getting Burke up and over her shoulders in a fireman's carry. It was not the fastest way to move, but her Voran strength and endurance would get them far enough away from the runabout for her to set him down and apply more medical aid. The first order of business, however, was survival.

***

Two hours had passed, with Ainkara stopping every thirty minutes to set Burke down and check on him, allowing her body some rest from carrying him.

"Hey, Cadet. You can give me more of that stimulant, ya know. That way I can move on my own legs with your aid."

Ainkara looked at him, not sure it was such a good idea. "If the infection isn't quite under control, the stimulant could make it worse."

"Ainkara, right?" Burke asked, seeing her nod yes. "This isn't my first rodeo. I've been injured and busted up before. Do it, so we can get up to those caves before the rest of 'em show up."

The two of them had seen the shuttle from the blockade runner zipping by overhead, going back and forth a few times before it disappeared below the trees from the direction they had come from. The runabout had been spotted and they were now on the ground. At least Ainkara had made good time and put three kilometers between themselves and the Orions. The sun was going down and they needed shelter as there were clouds forming and heading this way.

"Fine," said Ainkara. She brought the hypo out, reloaded a cartridge of stimulant and injected Burke. It took only a few moments and his eyes perked up and he began to move better. Chnaging out the cartridge for another she injected him again.

"What was that?" Burke asked, not expecting another shot.

"An analgesic, to offset your pain," stated Ainkara. She put the hypo and medkit back in the rucksack. "Let's move. Those caves are perfect. Plus, with nightfall and rain coming, it gives me the advantage. Come on." She aided in getting him to his feet, which he seemed to do better since the drugs were working. Slinging an arm over her shoulders they began to ascend the side of a mountain to get to the natural caves they saw above them. There was a river and a ravine, and the tree growth was thick and not easy to see through, with thick underbrush aplenty to hide in for ambush tactics.

***

The Boss stood over Kirk, a disruptor pistol pointed at her face as she was still shackled to the bunk. "Where are they, Kirk? You promised an easy ship and slaves. Here's the ship, where are the slaves?"

"They packed up and left a few hours ago," said Kirk. "If you hadn't taken your sweet time getting here you might have caught them." Her left cheek/jaw still hurt and showed quite the bruise. "As you can see they parted ways after smacking me around a bit."

"Awww," the Boss said cynically. "Are your feelings hurt? Or, just your pride?"

"Just let me up and we can head out after them. If they get off this world, or find a way to call for help then we're all doomed."

One of the underlings made to step in but the Boss stopped him. "Not yet." He looked to Jamie again. "If they aren't found we'll make do with you on the market, and this runabout. I'm sure a woman with your looks will fetch quite a price."

"I'm sure," Kirk responded sarcastically. "I guess we better find them then."

The Boss holstered his weapon, then motioned with his head for the underling to unlock her. He looked to another. "Go check the status of the ship. See if it can be flown. Looks like it put down harder than expected."

Kirk got up and rubbed her wrist where the cuff had held her in place. Walking over she opened the weapons locker and gathered a sidearm and a rifle. As she spun around, not pointing it at anyone, she was met with the Boss's barrel in her face again. "You best keep those weapons pointed at the right targets. Any sign of treachery and you won't be sold, you'll be entertainment for my crew. Understood?"

"Gotcha," Kirk responded, meaning it. There were six of them and just her.

Giving a nod and locking eyes a moment, the Boss holstered his weapon again. "Nyx and I will wait here. You know Starfleet tactics, Kirk, so you lead the hunting party." The female Orion he referred to crossed her arms in an arrogant way, giving Kirk the eye as she stood with swagger in her hips.

"Fair enough. Be back when we've caught the rabbits. Let's go, guys." Kirk led the small team out of the runabout, immediately looking for signs of where the two may have gotten to.

Nyx looked at the Boss. "What the fuck is a rabbit?"

The Boss shrugged, not really caring.

***

Ainkara had left Burke in a cavern, deep enough to hide the glow of a fire after she collected wood and got one started. Telling him to rest she then removed her jacket and the ruck, covering him with the coat and setting the ruck next to him. Once that was done, she left the cavern and returned to the woods, the full moon providing enough illumination for her to see well enough to begin. There were several ways for people to approach and try to remain hidden, and in those places she began to set natural snares and traps. Using her knife she shaved down sticks into wooden spikes, then tied them together by using strips of twisted bark as twine and fastening them to a green branch. With the same home made twine she created trip lines that would pull the lock out of place, allowing the green branch to swing back around at crotch level and stab into a victim. Each branch she created had four spikes on it for good measure. Another trap was a larger rock, almost a boulder, set with a trip line so that once it was released, the rock would roll down an embankment into the victim, with the hopes of breaking a leg, if not crushing them. There were several of each trap set out, all within what she perceived as being the paths they would take. Within two hours she had all her traps set and then climbed up into a tree that was broke in half from a lightning strike, and with small branches and fronds growing out of the broken off 'top'. A perfect nest to hide in and watch, what with it being dark, and very hard to discern person from foliage.

Sitting in her crow's nest, a full 360 degree of view, Ainkara waited patiently for the quarry to enter her domain. She did not have to wait long. The techno-spindle in her eye began to spin and adjust vision in her right eye, zooming in for clarity and providing night vision. It was only in one eye, but it was enough. Her brain automatically compensated and she was not confused by seeing two different angles from two different eyes. Kirk was in the lead for a four person team. Using the Core and accessing the Alter discipline, Ainkara had a hand down by her thigh as she crouched atop the tree, making a claw gesture and spinning it. A rock came loose on a hillside, and as it rolled down the hill it set loose gravel and pebbles to follow it, causing the enemy team to all turn and look that way. They crouched and waited, listening and looking.

"I hate this woodland crap," said one of the thugs. "There's nothing there."

As he said that the first few drops of rain began to fall.

"Ah, great," said another thug. "That's all we need."

Within a minute it began to downpour. But, at least, it was a warm rain shower not unlike a home shower. Within minutes Ainkara's hair was matted to her skull, drops of water falling from her nose and chin steadily. She never moved, kept her breathing even, and focused on relaxing and taking in the moment.

Kirk made a motion. "You two, go up that defalade, we'll take this one. Stay frosty and alert."

The two thugs looked at each other with the expression of 'who does she think she is', but then remembered the Boss had said to follow her. They gave snarky nods to Kirk before moving off.

As the thugs went the lead man came upon a larger tree, growing on the side of the incline, part of its roots showing. Seeing a spot he could purchase his feet to clamber out he turned and made the first step. His ankle hit something and he heard a pop sound, and before he could react any further a branch of 6 inch wooden spikes swung around and caught him in the thighs, just below the pelvis. "Argh!" He screamed in pain, dropping his rifle and grasping the branch with both hands. The spikes had not pierced his crotch but they were buried deep into his flesh. "Help!" He screamed again. "Help me!"

His partner ran up, head on a swivel as he looked all around. Not seeing anyone he then stepped in and looked over his buddy's shoulder, seeing the spikes in the legs. "Damn it!" He hissed, setting his rifle aside so he could help his friend.

Kirk and her man had stopped. "What's going on?" She yelled out. Being roughly twenty yards apart, in the dark, all she could hear were the screams over the rain, and with the rainfall, visibility had turned to shit.

Ainkara had dropped down from her tree, doing a tumbling shoulder roll back to her feet and crouch-ran through the foliage. With his partner still making noises of pain, and his focus on aiding, the uninjured thug did not hear or see Ainkara come up from behind. Grabbing the healthy man from behind, her hand closing down over his windpipe and choking him, she reversed the hold on her knife and stabbed it into the back of his thigh, pulling it slightly to cause a major hamstring wound. He howled in pain even as Ainkara let him go and disappeared into the rainy darkness.

Kirk, a distance away, looked to her partner. "Are they both screaming now?"

"Sounds like it. We can't just keep going, they need help!" Turning from Kirk the thug ascended the defalade and began to run towards the sounds of his wounded comrades, ignoring Kirk when she yelled, "Wait!"

"Shit!" Kirk said to herself. That was when it dawned on her that she was now standing out in the rain, and the dark, all by herself. She mounted the defalade and followed the thug with more caution.

The thug moved like a linebacker through the foliage, shouldering it aside as he worked to maintain his footing on the incline of the hill. He tripped over something and as he did so he landed prone just as a large rock began to roll towards him. "No, no, no!" He yelled, too late. The large stone rolled right over the top of his legs and he felt a popping within his right knee as the boulder mashed it between itself and a rocky outcropping the man's legs were atop. Another Orion was now grunting in pain.

Kirk slowed down, her barrel going back and forth as she cautiously moved through the woods. The damn rain played hell with her vision and her hearing. Coming to a large tree and getting up against it, Jamie peeked around it as she looked in the direction of the cries of pain. As her eyes were looking that way, out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement. Before she could spin her weapon around at the ready a shrub grabbed her and shoved her back against the tree trunk, a knife blade pressed against her throat. She looked into the eyes of Cadet Ainkara, covered in mud, blood, and rain. Her eyes were wild but the gaze was piercing. It was the first time in Kirk's life she actually felt fear. One move of the blade would end her life and she knew it.

"I could have killed them all," said Ainkara. "I could kill you. Drop the weapon or breathe your last breath here and now."

The rifle fell to the forest floor.

Ainkara pulled the pistol from Kirk's holster and tossed it off into the woods. Once that was gone she then stabbed Kirk on the front inside portion of her right shoulder, effectively crippling the arm. Kirk clenched her teeth and growled through them in pain. "Move towards your friends. Save your life by not doing anything stupid."

Kirk did not make any moves, holding her left hand over the puncture wound in her shoulder, which seeped blood and hurt like hell. The arm would not be effective for much until seen to. They got over to the others, both still in the defalade, but the one had freed himself from the spikes. They lay side by side panting in pain.

Ainkara shoved Kirk down into the ditch, watching her stumble to her knees before recovering and laying next to the others. She collected their weapons and sheathed her knife. "Who's left?" She asked as she squatted on the lip of the defalade, rifle pointed in their direction. No one said a word. "Okay." Ainkara aimed at Kirk's left knee and fired.

The woman let go of her shoulder and clutched her now singed and damaged left knee. "Arghhh! You bitch!"

Ainkara paid it no mind. She simply repeated the question. "Who's left?" Again she was met with silence through defiance. She aimed her rifle at the thug's left leg, who already had a crushed right knee.

"Okay, okay!" He said, holding a pleading hand up as if it would stop a disruptor bolt. "Our captain and his mate. They're on the runabout waiting for us."

Ainkara stood up, her hearing listening for rustling as the rain had ceased. Nothing. The Boss must have expected his people to get done and return. Pulling her combadge from her pocket, Ainkara spoke into it. "Computer, Security lockdown on USS Hudson. Release anesthazine gas and keep the occupants sedated. Cadet Ainkara," she rattled off her service ID numbers. Putting the badge on her tank top front above her left breast she tapped it again. "Lieutenant Burke, Ainkara."

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"I have four wounded and their Boss and his mate are sedated aboard the Hudson. Orders, Sir?"

"Get to the Hudson and make sure they're down, Cadet. Once that is done, beam me the hell back. This cave isn't exactly comfy."

Ainkara, despite herself, grinned at that. "Will do, Sir." She tapped the badge off, then on again "Computer, beam the the wounded to the aft section of the runabout and gas them. I need the condition of those currently aboard."

"The two Orions are unconscious and will remain so until further directives."

"Activate the EMH and have them sedate the intruders. Same with the four now being beamed in. Energize." Kirk and her companions were enveloped in the transporter and disappeared. Standing and looking up at the stars, Ainkara waited five minutes and then had herself beamed to the ship. Arriving in the Bridge, she made her way aft and found five Orions and one Human laying on the deck unconscious. The EMH stood over them and looked at her.

"Greetings, Cadet. As per your orders they are now all sleeping. Should I see to their wounds?"

"In time, yes," said Ainkara. "I have to hike back to the cave and recover Lieutenant Burke." Ainkara explained. "Once clear of the caverns he should be able to be beamed aboard. Keep them down, please."

***

Six hours later, after seeing to the ship's needs, the runabout left the atmosphere and was now in orbit. Out the forward window Ainkara could see the Orion blockade runner. "Would be a shame to just leave it there."

Burke looked over from the co-pilot's seat. "True. So, what? You gonna turn pirate now?"

"No," said Ainkara, tapping keys and activating weapons. "Scanners show no life forms aboard. One less Syndicate vessel is a bonus." She fired phasers and a few photons until the damage was severe enough to cause a warp core breach, and from long range they watched the Orion ship blow apart.

Burke gave a grunting chuckle and a grin. "Nicely done. There's a starbase not too far from here. With the damaged port nacelle we can only attain warp three. Let's get there and have them repair this thing and see to my partner's body."

"Yes, Sir." Ainkara closed down weapons and angled for deep space. Once clear of the gravity of the planet she tapped the keys and jumped to light speed.

OFF: